The Cherry Blossom Chronicles
by m e d a r i Huisko
Summary: When Sasuke finally returns from Sound, he notices that a lot has changed since he left. But the one thing that hasn’t change was how he felt about the gentle cherry blossom and how she will love him. SASUxSAKU, full summary inside!
1. Realizing

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Summary:** When Sasuke finally returns from Sound, dragging the dead Orochimaru along with him, he notices that a lot has changed since he left. But the one thing that hasn't change was how he felt about the gentle cherry blossom and how she will love him, now and forever. But will things change once Sasuke's mission to kill Itachi resurfaces... will he break her heart, again?

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**Disclaimer**: I **DO NOT** own Naruto. If I did, would I be wasting my time writing fanfics about my own story?!

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**THE CHERRY BLOSSOM CHRONICLE**

Chapter One: Realizing

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_FLASHBACKS are in ITALICS_

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It's always the same story.

**GIRL LOVES BOY, BOY HATES GIRL, GIRL GETS OVER BOY, BOY WANTS GIRL BACK, AND GIRL DIES IN A HORRIBLE CAR ACCIDENT.**

Now take out the words "girl" and "boy" and replace them with the names "Sakura" and "Sasuke" (In that order, because Sasuke is **NOT** a girl, as amusing as that might be). Okay, so Sakura never dies in a horrible car accident. But for all you know, it might happen!

(**A/N** - I don't even think they have cars in Konoha... xD)

All of this boy-girl non-sense is what brings us back to our current story, a story filled with sorrow, pain, happiness and love. A story featuring two of our favourite Konoha shinobi, Sasuke and Sakura!

Sakura skipped happily towards the bridge where team seven used to meet. Two years has past since the Uchiha heir came back, covered in blood from head to toe, dragging Orochimaru's limp, dead body back with him. Ever since Sasuke's return, Sakura's been dying to show him how she's grown and how much stronger she's gotten. But most of all, Sakura needed to prove that no matter how much the Uchiha heir ignored her and hurt her in the past, she'd always care. Sakura sighed as the painful memories came rushing back…

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_Sakura ran after Sasuke, blinded by her own tears. She had to stop him from leaving; she would do whatever it took. She continued to run towards the Uchiha heir, screaming "No! Don't leave Sasuke-kun! You're making a mistake!"_

_Sasuke stopped upon hearing the voice of the pink-haired kunoichi. He knew he had to leave. He had to leave to find Orochimaru and to gain power so that he could one day, kill his brother. No one was going to stop him, no one _could_ stop him. He wasn't going to let anymore, let alone a weak, pink-haired girl stop him. Yes, that's what she was, weak, weak and annoying. He wasn't going to miss her at all._

_Sakura stopped behind Sasuke, panting slightly, thankful that he stopped. "Please Sasuke-kun," she begged. "Please don't leave. We all love you so much. Naruto will be devastated if you leave and even though he never admits it, you're like the brother he never had. Even Kakashi-sensei will miss you. He didn't teach you the Chidori so you could one day betray the village!" Sakura paused for effect then continued. "And me, I'll miss you the most."_

_Sasuke looked down at the ground, balling his hands into fists. He felt somewhat guilty about what he was doing to his teammates, who he now might've even considered friends._

_The tear stains on Sakura's cheeks were visible, even in the dark. "Sasuke-kun, please. I love you. I love you so much that it hurts. I will do anything for you, I'll help you train and maybe someday the hokage will let you go on a mission to kill him. But please, just don't leave. I will die if you do. That's how much I love you, Sasuke-kun. Please stay."_

_Sasuke smiled a little at her last statement._

_Then, Sakura gasped at the sudden change in wind direction. She then realized that Sasuke is now behind her, and she could feel his breath on her neck._

"_Sakura," Sakura waited, wanting to hear the words 'I'll stay', but they never came. "Thank you."_

_Then, everything was black._

_The next day, Sakura awoke and found her sleeping on a bench. 'He left…' She thought._

'_He left and he took my heart with him.'

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_

Sakura arrived at the bridge, frowning at the sad memory. Oh well, she told herself. No need for dwelling on the past. She smiled and looked up at the sky, watching a few birds fly by. The important thing is that he's back, and he'll never leave again. Well, at least she hoped he wouldn't leave.

Looking around, Sakura was surprised that Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Funny, the Uchiha was usually the first to get here. Sakura shrugged and sighed. Sasuke was probably off finding some suitable young woman to bare Uchiha heirs with. Sakura sighed again. For someone as powerful as Sasuke, with such a powerful blood line, you'd think they wouldn't be so blind to what was in front of him. Sakura was the prefect candidate for Sasuke's future wife.

Over the years, Sakura has gotten more beautiful and powerful. The 17-year-old surpassed the level of the Legendary Sennin Tsunade and was now one of the best known medic-nins in her village (And other villages also). Sakura's body was now more developed and she left her hair short, knowing that it wouldn't in the way during battle. Her pink hair was held back by her Hidden Leaf Village headband. Her large forehead didn't seem so big anymore. Sakura switched from her usual uniform to a pair of short-skirt (Sort of like a mini-skirt but made of more flexible material for movement) and a black tank-top. In battle, she usually wore a pair of black combat gloves to protect her hands from her powerful chakra attacks. She also wore shin guards to protect her lower legs.

She was training to be an ANBU where Sasuke, although only back for two years, was already an ANBU captain. He has accomplished so much in such a short about of time! Even though he was constantly under the watch of ANBU during his first year back, he has managed to do what many ninjas hoped to do in many years.

Yes, they would make the perfect couple and would produce perfect children, a perfect heir with Sakura's wits and Sasuke's strength.

Meanwhile, our favourite Uchiha prodigy was up in a cherry blossom tree, staring at the back of our cherry blossom. Some might even call this activity "stalking". Ever since Sasuke's return to Konoha, Sakura's been acting, differently, but he couldn't exactly say what. Sure her body was more developed and she has grown to be a powerful Jounin, but something else has changed. What was it?

Oh, right. She isn't the clingy, annoying fan-girl type character anymore. Sasuke frowned in his tree; he missed the Sakura who always greeted him with a cheery "Ohayou Sasuke-kun!" Where did that girl go?

Sakura turned around from where she was standing and looked into the tree by the river bank. She smiled when she sensed a familiar chakra in the tall branches of the tree.

"Ohayou Sasuke-kun."

Sakura greeted her ex-teammate with a smile and a little wave. Sasuke sighed and leaped out of his hiding place in the pink of the cherry blossoms.

"Hn," He gave his usual reply. "Where's dead-last and Kakashi?" he asked as if he didn't know the answer already.

Sakura frowned and looked around, after a good five minutes of waiting in silence, the pair decided that the hyperactive blonde and their ex-sensei were simply not coming.

"I guess they aren't coming today." Sakura sighed. "Kakashi's probably reading that perverted book of his and Naruto… well, knowing Naruto, he's probably at Ichiraku's eating ramen and flirting with Hinata."

Sasuke smirked at this, knowing his female "friend" was obviously right.

Since the two years Sasuke's been back, Naruto has changed a lot. Not only was he just as, if not more, powerful than he is now, he actually had a girlfriend. Even Neji, the cold Hyuuga, had a girlfriend now! How Sakura managed to talk Neji into asking Tenten out on a date was a huge mystery itself. The once annoying fan girl, Ino, managed to get pass her crazy obsession for the Uchiha heir and has found an interest in the pineapple hair freak, what's his name again? Oh yeah, Shikamaru.

(**A/N** - Sorry to all Shikamaru fans out there that's reading this, I just had to make it sound more... Sasuke-ish.)

Sasuke's smirk turned into a deep frown. He was the only one without a girlfriend, maybe Sakura could pair him up with someone, but he knew he didn't want that. What he really wanted was Sakura, but he couldn't let her know that! What if she no longer had feelings for him? No Uchiha shall be turned down by a girl, no, not ever. Their pride wouldn't let them!

"So…" Sasuke broke out of his train of thought at the voice of the pink-haired kunoichi beside him.

He gave her an "I-really-don't-want-to-hear-your-voice" look. Sakura giggled at this.

"Since they're not coming, what do you want do?" Sasuke was about to open his mouth to answer when Sakura spoke again. "Wait, lemme guess, training, training and more training?"

Sasuke twitched. Okay, he hasn't been training THAT much! In fact, he wasn't training for more than an hour yesterday!

No… wait…

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_After beating the crap out of Naruto for the fourth time that day, Sasuke headed for Ichiraku, dragging an unconscious Naruto behind him. He was looking for another victim… er, person to train with. He spotted the Hyuuga heiress coming out of Ino's flower shop carrying a thin vase with a single rose in it. If Sasuke had to guess, he would say that was for Kiba, who was recently found unconscious near Sound. After getting beat up by one of the Sound ninjas while completing a mission, no doubt. Sasuke decided to train with the Huyuga since Neji was on a mission (If you would call going on a date with Tenten a "mission")._

_Hinata gasped at the slight of Naruto when Sasuke walked towards her, dropping the vase in her petit hands. _

"_Naruto-kun!" exclaimed the Hyuga heiress, running towards her blonde boyfriend. "What did you do to him, Sasuke-san?!"_

_Hinata knelt by Naruto, shaking him, constantly asking him if he was alright, and when Naruto finally regained consciousness, the Huuyga heiress glomped him with hugs while she dragged him off, telling him never to train with the Uchiha again. Naruto just shrugged at Sasuke's confused face, letting Hinata drag him away.

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_

Okay, so he beat the crap out of Naruto four times, it still doesn't mean he trained 24/7! Sasuke shook his head.

"No, we can't train 24/7," he replied rather dully, "even a shinobi need to have fun, right?" Sakura stared, and stared, and stared. Okay, now Sakura thinks Sasuke is insane. "Hey, don't you know staring is not nice?" Sasuke asked, smirking.

"Fine," Sakura said, resting one of her hands on her hip. "What do you suppose we do then?" Sasuke shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Whatever you want I guess…" He heard a high-pitched squeal before he realized that Sakura had grabbed him by the hand and started to drag him towards the town.

"_Crap…_" Sasuke thought. Okay, maybe "Whatever you want" wasn't the BEST answer… The Uchiha heir had no choice BUT to let his female ex-teammate drag him into the busy part of the town where Ino's flower shop was located. Sakura dragged a very annoyed Sasuke into her best-friend's flower shop where she found the blonde arranging a dozen roses into a vase for an elder ordering flowers for her apartment.

Ino looked up, smiling when she spotted her best-friend and the Uchiha arranging flowers together into a thin, blue vase.

"Ohayou Ino-pig!" Sakura gave her best-friend her usual greeting before dragging Sasuke to the counter to pay for the flowers.

"Hey Forehead-girl." Ino greeted her best-friend while punching a few numbers into the cash register, a dinging sound was heard.

After paying for the flowers, Sakura skipped happily towards the hospital. Sasuke subconsciously shuddered, he hated hospitals. How Sakura could work at one everyday without getting sick at the sight of blood was amazing. Sasuke observed the girl holding the vase, skipping happily towards the hospital but being very careful not to drop the vase.

"Hey Sakura," Sasuke spoke. "Who are the flowers for?"

Sakura smiled. "You'll see."

Sasuke frowned, he didn't like to wait. Not now, not ever. The "couple" entered the hospital; Sakura nodded, smiled and greeted a couple of the nurses as the male doctors drooled at her appearance. Sasuke glared at them, immediately sending them back to their business.

Sakura entered a room with a pale green door, smiling at whoever inhabited the room. Sasuke looked past her shoulders (it wasn't hard considering the fact that Sasuke was at least a head taller than Sakura) and frowned.

"Ohayou Lee." Sakura greeted the Green Beast of Konoha. "How are you doing?"

Sasuke felt something erupt inside of him. Hate. Pain, and… jealousy? Okay. Deep breaths, Sasuke. You cannot, and I repeat cannot fall in love with Sakura. DO NOT fall in love the Sakura. He glanced at the pink-haired angel in front of him.

**Oops, too late.

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So, here is it. It's not very long (Only 2061 words! My stories are usually MUCH longer than that), and probably not very good... If it's not good, please tell me why. R&R, Thank you! Also, this chapter has been edited by a friend. Thank you Alysha! 

**m e d a r i**


	2. Struggles in Confession

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A/N –** I was just making mash potatoes (The kind where you mix the dry powder with the boiled water, milk and butter) while trying to think of a plot for this chapter (since the last one was basically pointless, although I'm happy that people liked it and reviewed! **THREE CHEERS FOR THE PPL WHO REVIEWED, YAY!**) And while I was mixing in the dry powder, I forgot the turn off the heat and I almost made my mash potatoes explode. So let this be a lesson to all those people out there who are trying to learn how to cook, **TURN OFF THE HEAT BEFORE MIXING IN POWDER FOR MASH POTATOES**! (Or else the thing will explode on you and that's not good! Dx) 

**GAAAAH** Fanfiction won't let me reply to all of my reviews, but that **DOES NOT** mean I haven't seen them! I've replied to the ones that FANFICTION let me reply to. But if I didn't reply to you, all I can say is I'm sorry and it's not my fault and I have seen all your reviews and I love them all very much. **THANK YOU SOOO** much!

**OH, ALSO, THE FIRST CHPT OF MY STORY HAS BEEN EDITED! **(Thank you Alysha!)

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Disclaimer**: I **DO NOT** own Naruto. But one day, once I am old enough, I will buy Naruto and then I will not share it with anyone else... **Muhahahaha**! Ahem… Anyways.

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**OMAKE: Meeting at the Airport**

(**A/N: **I am now eating strawberry JELL-O with whipped cream (A LOT of whipped cream.) So if any of this doesn't make sense, please blame it on the extensive amount of sugar that I am consuming. Also, this is based on a real story. I just modified the ending a bit…)

20 years old Sakura entered an airport waiting room carrying only her purse and a magazine. Inside her purse, Sakura carried some of her homemade strawberry sugar cookies so she wouldn't get bored (**A/N** - You know when they say the plane will come at 5pm, they really mean 7pm). After she was seated, Sakura took one of those cookies, bit into it, flipped to an article on drug abuse and started to read, slowly getting lost in it's contends.

A man with dark eyes and hairstyle that can only be described as a "chicken-butt" walked into the waiting room (**A/N** - I think we all know who that is!). He goes by the name of Sasuke. Sasuke sat down in one of the leathered seats in the waiting room. Opening his backpack, Sasuke brought out a bag filled with strawberry sugar cookies (sound familiar?) and a… traveling guide (**A/N** - That sounds so Sasuke-ish! All work and no play. xD). Just when Sasuke was about to take one of the cookies, a woman with pink haired walked in, sat down beside his cookies (**A/N** - the cookies are in between them…) and took one. The man gave a confused look, hoping the pink haired goddess… er, woman didn't see the look on his face. He took a cookie and went back to reading his… traveling guide, waiting to see what the woman would do next.

Sakura was shocked. Did the chicken-ass haired freak just take one of her cookies (**A/N** - GASP!)?! How dare he? But Sakura, being taught always to be polite even to strangers while growing up, decided to ignore it and went back to her story, while taking another cookie, secretly wanting to see what the man would do.

A little while after, Sasuke took a cookie, and then Sakura took a cookie. This kept going until there was only one cookie left. Sakura eyed the cookie, wanting to see what the man would do. Sasuke took the cookie, broke it in half, ate one half and left the other half in the bag. Sakura was shocked! '_Okay, first he takes my cookies and now he has the guts to do this?_' Okay, now Sakura was mad. She stormed off into her plane - thank god it was here. Sasuke eyed the woman, wondering what he did wrong.

On the plane, Sakura opened her purse to see that her cookies were still there. She gasped… Then that meant…

After Sasuke got comfy on the plane, he opened his bag, only to find the cookies in his bag. 'Okay…' the young man thought. 'If those weren't my cookies, and they weren't hers, then whose cookies were they?'

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**A/N** – I just had to write that. After my friend told me the story, I just had to re-write the story! I thought that was so sweet! In the real story, they were the man's cookies and on the plane the woman realizes they were the man's cookies. Anyways, I should probably get on with the story.

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**THE CHERRY BLOSSOM CHRONICLE**

Chapter Two: Struggles in Confession

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This is Talking  
_This is Anyone's Thoughts  
_**This is Inner Sakura/Sasuke  
**_FLASHBACKS ARE IN ITALIC

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_ **RECAP…**

"_Sakura entered a room with a pale green door, smiling at whoever inhabited the room. Sasuke looked past her shoulders (it wasn't hard considering the fact that Sasuke was at least a head taller than Sakura) and frowned._

"_Ohayou Lee." Sakura greeted the Green Beast of Konoha. "How are you doing?"_

_Sasuke felt something erupt inside of him. Hate. Pain, and… jealousy? Okay. Deep breaths Sasuke. You cannot, and I repeat cannot fall in love with Sakura. DO NOT fall in love the Sakura. He glanced at the pink-haired angel in front of him._

_**Oops, too late.**"

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Sakura skipped cheerfully into the room, placing the flowers on the small night table by Lee's hospital bed. Sasuke only glared at the spandex wearing ninja before following Sakura into room. '__What's this feeling I'm getting?!_' screamed Sasuke in his mind. '_Why do I want to kill Lee, cut him into tiny, little bite size pieces and feed him to piranhas?!_'  
'**Because you don't like to see Sakura give that smile to anyone else but you…**'  
'_Who the hell are you?_'  
'**Simple, I'm you. And I thought you were smart!**'  
'_Just shut up._'  
'**I won't. Not until you tell Sakura your true feelings for her.**'  
'_I don't have _any_ feelings for her, damn it!_' 

Sakura skipped cheerfully into the room, placing the flowers on the small night table by Lee's hospital bed. Sasuke only glared at the spandex wearing ninja before following Sakura into room. '' screamed Sasuke in his mind. '''''''''''''any' 

Meanwhile, Sakura had started waving her hands in front of Sasuke, trying to somehow get his attention. As you can see (or read), it wasn't working. Whatever Sasuke was thinking about was obviously important. Not like Naruto's 'Oh-My-God-there's-no-more-ramen!' important but more like Sasuke's 'OMG-I-still-can't-believe-Itachi's-not-dead!' important. And to tell the truth, neither was very important to Sakura.

'**Sure you don't. Stop denying it! You know denial's not good for anyone!**'  
'_I'll say it once, and I'm not going to say it again. I AM NOT IN DENIAL!_'

"**I AM NOT IN DENIAL!**" Oops, I guess he didn't mean to say it out loud. Sakura stared at Sasuke, not that she minded since he was so HOT. Lee blinked a few times and the nurses were now staring at Sasuke for his outburst.

Sasuke just stood there with a shocked expression. Then…

"Hn," Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Are you ready to leave?"

Everyone sweat dropped. The nurses went back to their work, Sakura muttered something about 'At least he was talking like a normal human being for once…' while Lee just went on ranting about Sasuke's use of bad language in front of his cherry blossom (Sasuke twitched when Lee said "MY CHERRY BLOSSOM"). Sakura then said goodbye to Lee before following Sasuke out of the hospital.

The "couple" headed towards Ichiraku to have lunch, although neither of them was hungry.

After ordering, Sakura decided to ask Sasuke about his "outburst" in the hospital. Although knowing that any questions that she asked would be answered with a "hn", "Aa" or the rare occasion of a "yes" or "no". But despite the fact that she would not get an answer, Sakura would still try to get at least one sentence out of him (or sometimes, if she's lucky, A WHOLE PARAGRAPH!). Maybe Sakura hadn't noticed, but she was the only person (other than Naruto and Kakashi) that Sasuke had opened up to. Sasuke once took the time to tell her about how his family was murdered by his older brother, and he told her his dreams of someday killing him and avenging his family and also, he hope to someday restore his clan with a woman (Sakura blushed at this) that he thought was worthy of giving birth to an Uchiha.

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_Sakura and Sasuke were waiting by the bridge, hoping that Naruto and their ex-sensei would arrive soon. It had been about three months since Sasuke came back and he seemed as cold as ever. 'So the human ice cube still hasn't melted heh?' Sakura sighed. Nope, he will never melt._

"_Hey Sakura…" Sakura jerked her head up to meet the dark eyes of the youngest Uchiha. She cocked her head in confusion. "Yes Sasuke-kun?"_

_The Uchiha looked into Sakura's emerald green eyes, Sakura stared back. She could see so much pain, fear and worry in his eyes. And judging by the bags underneath his eyes, she can tell that he hadn't been sleeping much. But despite all his flaws; Sakura knew that there was a kind soul down there somewhere. Someone just has to melt away the hard exterior to reach the softness on the inside. Sakura wished she could do that, but it looked like the Uchiha wasn't about to let anyone help him, let alone a girl who he thought was weak for several years._

"_Would you like to know about my past?" Sasuke asked, hoping the answer would be yes._

_Sasuke had been waiting for a long time to tell Sakura about his past. He felt like he needed to tell someone about it. He remembered when he told Kakashi and Naruto about the Uchiha massacre, he felt that some of the weight and responsibility had been lifted off his shoulders, it just drifted away. He felt that the people he chose to surround himself with could help him get over the fact that if he left the village again, he might lose everything that really mattered to him._

_Sakura's eyes lit up. "Of course Sasuke-kun! I would love to hear about your past." Sakura's expression suddenly grew serious. "I know it must be very painful for you to talk about such a sad, sad thing, I know what it feels like. I lost both of my parents, talking about it will help you get pass the fact that they're gone. I'm happy you're willing to talk to me about it and I'm always willing to listen!"_

_Sasuke was shocked. If all girls acted this way towards him, then maybe he wouldn't have left Konoha in the first place. But then again, Sakura wasn't like other girls; she had actual ambitions in life that could be accomplished where the other girls dreamed about getting married to people they've never even met before. Sasuke smiled at Sakura – it wasn't a smirk, either, but an actual smile._

"_Hey Sasuke," Sakura smiled back at the Uchiha. "You look **WAY** better when you smile."_

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Sakura smiled at the happy memory. She was still glad that the cold Uchiha finally opened up to her, even though it was just that one time. Sakura looked at the raven haired boy beside her; he must be in so much pain. Yes, she may have lost her own parents when Orochimaru attacked Konoha, but she couldn't image the pain of her own family/clan killing one another. (**A/N** – I don't think Orochimaru actually kills her family in the manga/anime, but it does make the story more… exciting, I guess.) 

Sasuke turned his head, catching Sakura's eye. He smiled at her, a tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless.

'**Tell her you like her, dumb ass!**'  
'_Great,_ _you're back. I thought I got rid of you_.'  
'**You will never get rid of me, as long as Sakura is blind to how you feel, I will exist.**'  
'_Damn, so you mean here's no way of getting rid of you?_'  
'**Nope**.'

Sakura cocked her head to one side and frowned at Sasuke. He seemed so deep in thought, with that same emotionless look plastered across his face. Sakura poked him; she just had to poke him.

"What the hell?!" Sasuke snapped out of his trance, pulled out a kunai and looked around. After realizing that no one (or rather, Sakura) was under attack, he slowly returned his kunais back into his kunai holder and sat back down next to Sakura. Sakura blinked innocently at a very confused Sasuke.

"Is something troubling you Sasuke-kun?' Sakura asked while she slurped her ramen. "You seem really out of it today. You know, spacing out and stuff."

Sasuke glared at the Kunoichi sitting beside him, an innocent puppy look plastered on her face. Sasuke frowned and gave in.

"Sakura, look," Sasuke began to explain. "I have… these unusual feelings for this girl in the village, and I'm not sure exactly how to explain it." Sasuke took a deep breath before continuing. "This feeling, it's kind of like…" Sasuke thought for a minute. "It feels like I would do anything for the person and if she's talking or smiling to any guy other than me, I would want to rip the guy apart. I want to protect her with my life, and I don't know how to tell her about these feelings."

Sakura gave him a sad smile, knowing that would never be her. She knew in her heart that no matter how hard she tried and how hard she dreamed, she would never be with Sasuke. Sasuke needed someone better, more powerful and more beautiful than her. Little did she know, she seemed perfect in Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke looked for a sign of hope, hope that she might have seen through his charade and found out that the girl he described was really her.

'**Keep dreaming…**'  
'_What do you mean? Sakura's smart, she'll figure it out._'  
'**No, are you THAT dense? Look at her eyes. She's obviously convinced herself that it isn't her! You can almost see the tears!**'

Sasuke looked into Sakura's eyes, and sure enough; he could clearly see the tears threatening to fall. Sasuke frowned again. He hated to see Sakura cry. What had he done? Sakura stared down at her food, trying not to cry. '_I should be happy for Sasuke-kun. He's finally learning to love again._' Sakura gave Sasuke a fake smile. A smile that said 'I should be happy for you but why do I feel so empty inside?' Sasuke frowned at the girl. What was he supposed to do, tell her that the girl was her?

"Um… Sakura? Do you want to know who the girl is?" Sasuke sighed, he was finally going to tell her his true feelings.

"Um…" Sakura hesitated; did she really want to know?

"HI GUYS!" Naruto suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Sorry I missed out training session today…" the hyper active blonde trailed off seeing Sakura's sad face. Naruto frowned, and then glared at Sasuke. "What did you do to Sakura, Sasuke-teme?!"

Sakura's eyes widened and she shook her head violently.

"Nononononono…" Sakura yelled, and stood up so fast, that she knocked over her stool. "Sasuke-kun didn't do anything, Naruto. Whatever would give you THAT idea?"

Naruto looked at his best-friend/sisterly-figure. "Tons of things. The fact that your sitting here with him when we all know he'd rather be training" - Sasuke twitched at this –"and by how you've reacted, you NEVER spaz when I ask you if you're okay."

'_Wow, the dope actually said something intelligent today. Hinata must be really rubbing off on him…_' Sasuke thought. Secretly, he knew it was partly his fault that Sakura was sad. He was just too… egotistic to admit it. Sasuke got up, paid for the food order and headed for the forest.

"Let's go train. We only came here because we knew Naruto would be here." Sasuke began to walk away with his hands shoved into his pockets once again.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged looks and followed the Uchiha heir. Upon entering the forest, Sakura sensed a familiar chakra. It was kind of like an Uchiha, but it wasn't Sasuke. She knew there are only three people with the Sharingan eye - Kakashi, Sasuke and HIM. Since Sasuke was with them and she knew it wasn't Kakashi's chakra she sensed… Then it hit her, well almost hit her. As a kunai flew towards her, Sakura spun around and skillfully caught the kunai.

"Who's there?" Sakura yelled into the trees, which got the boys' attention. They turned their attention to their female teammate who clutched the kunai in her hand. "Show yourself!"

The man in the shadows smirked at the pink-haired kunoichi. Nothing but a pair of piercing red eyes behind the blackness of the shadow he's hiding behind. Sasuke froze at the pair of red eyes. As he realized who their mystery attacker was, he stopped breathing, slowing reaching for his sword from behind his back.

The man with red eyes smirked at the three Jounins.

"Wow, who ever heard of a shinobi with pink hair?"

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Wow, short chapter. I'm going to write a fight scene next chapter. I'm sure we all know who the "man with red eyes" is. Anyways, I'll make sure to write a longer chapter next time. I'm trying to update once a week. I'll write an OMAKE (which means bonus by the way…) to make up for the short chapters at the beginning of every chapter. Oh, and thank you to Alysha for editing! 

**m e d a r i**


	3. A Not So Peaceful Reunion

**A/N – **I'm in BTT (computer) class right now, writing the third chapter of my story. I'm going to make this a fight scene, so there will be tons of violence. (YAY VIOLENCE!)

Anyways, I really like BTT, not only because it's a super easy subject to pass, but also our BTT teacher (who's also our history/geography teacher) lets us do ANYTHING we want. So if you're in the room right now, you'd be able to hear** BACKSTREET BOYS** music, watch **DEATHNOTE** on Youtube and play around on FFR (kind of like a computer version of DDR). So I've decided to grasp this moment and start on my third chapter.

My friend beside me is going ballistic, ranting and stuff on Microsoft word. The Internet on her computer is dead (what can we say, crappy computers) and I'm asking her how to spell all these random words that I don't know how to spell… God, I'm hopeless! xD

Also, thank you for all those people who reviewed, **YAY REVIEWERS**!

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I **DO NOT** own Naruto. I wish I did though… ;;

* * *

**OMAKE: Black Forest Cake

* * *

**

(**A/N: **I have no clue what black forest cake tastes like but my friend seem to like it a lot, so I'm dedicating this OMAKE to her. YAY AMANDA! )

* * *

A raven-haired man sighed as his pink-haired girlfriend sobbed into his shoulder. He sighed again suddenly finding the shiny tiles on the kitchen floor very interesting: why must girls cry over the stupidest things? Sasuke rubbed the back of his girlfriend, wishing he had never jumped through her window and scared her like that…

* * *

_Sakura skipped happily down the streets of Konoha, swinging around the bag of groceries she carried with her. __Today was Sasuke's birthday, and also their three month anniversary. Sakura smiled to herself. She remembered how happy she was that night when Sasuke had brought her under the cherry blossom tree in the park behind the hospital, and told her his true feelings. It was the most romantic moment in her life. She never felt so happy (other than on the day that Sasuke came back)._

_Now in her tiny apartment, Sakura began to unload all the cake supplies in her bag. She was baking her famous (and Sasuke's __favourite) black forest cake with white chocolate shavings and Maraschino cherries. Pre-heating the oven, Sakura mixed the flour, baking power, cocoa powder, eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla extract and then poured the mixture into a baking tray. She then popped the fully loaded tray into the oven and began to make the icing, the radio on full blast in the background._

_Sasuke had just __come home from an ANBU mission in time to celebrate his birthday with his favourite pink-haired kunoichi. Upon arriving in front of his girlfriend's apartment, Sasuke heard the loud music blasting from the radio. '__**I'm surprised she doesn't go deaf in this racket…**__' Sasuke thought. '__**Maybe this is why she has such sharp hearing**__.' Once a person has been exposed to loud music, they are be able to trace every sound while they're on a mission. But of course, it's encouraged that a ninja don't expose themselves to loud music TOO much, knowing it'll kill their ear drums. (__**A/N**__ – Not a proven fact, just something I made up!)_

_Sasuke knocked on the door.__ No answer. He tried knocking again, and no respond came. Sasuke frowned. He couldn't just break down the door or jump through the window. The last time he did that, Sakura punched him across the room, and then he had to rebuild the wall he flew through. That was not a pleasant experience and one he hoped he would never go through again. Sighing, Sasuke knocked on the door, again. He pounded on the door, hoping that his girlfriend would finally hear him._

_Humming to the music, Sakura mixed the icing sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon while swaying her hips to the song. She heard a faint tapping sound in the background but decided to ignore it__, thinking it was just a twig, swaying in the wind. The timer dinged._

_Sasuke __now sat on the steps leading to Sakura's small apartment, resting his chin in the palm of his hand while his elbows pressed into his knees. He just heard a timer ding inside Sakura's apartment. '__**That's it,**__' Sasuke thought while pulling himself up from his sitting position. '__**I'm going to go through the window again. Who cares if she gets mad! She should be glad I'm not mad for waiting almost an hour outside her apartment on MY BIRTHDAY!**__'_

_Sakura smiled with satisfaction. The cake was finally done, before her were a beautiful two layered black forest cake coated with a thick chocolate icing and white chocolate shaving topped with maraschino cherries. Still smiling, Sakura picked up the cake and headed for the dining room where they would soon be celebrating Sasuke's birthday. Now only if Sasuke would get there already! _

_Sasuke looked through all the __windows, seeing his pink-haired goddess through the window of the dining room, Sasuke decided to tap on the window. That didn't work. He quickly and skilfully unlocked the window, and jumped through._

_Sa__kura felt a tap on her shoulder, her whole body froze on the spot, afraid of whatever creature that might be standing behind her. She turned around; (doing what any girl would have done) closed her eyes and screamed, dropping the cake. The cake unfortunately landed top first onto the floor. Opening her eyes, she realized that her mystery 'attacker' was Sasuke. Boy, what kind of ninja was she? She should have known it was him from his chakra!_

_Sasuke watched as his girlfriend sobbed into his shirt about the cake, about how stupid she was and about how she made him wait on his birthday.

* * *

_

This brings us back to our current scene. Sasuke frowned. Lesson learned. He silently made a mental note. '_Note to self, tell Sakura to __**BUY**__ a cake for his birthday next year._'

* * *

**A/N** – Okay, my friend had a craving for black forest cake so that's what gave me the plot bunny. Anyways, for this chapter of The Cherry Blossom Chronicles, I'm going to attempt to write a fight scene, although I will probably fail miserably (like I always do xD). I have researched all the types of chakra, all the jutsus, all the battle techniques, types of weapons and even what type of clothing and face markings some characters have. I think I went a little OVERBOARD.

* * *

**THE CHERRY BLOSSOM CHRONICLE**

Chapter Three: (A Not so) Peaceful Reunion

* * *

This is Talking  
_This is Anyone's Thoughts  
_**This is Inner Sakura/Sasuke  
**_FLASHBACKS ARE IN ITALIC

* * *

_

**RECAP…**

"_Sakura and Naruto exchanged looks and followed the Uchiha heir. Upon entering the forest, Sakura sensed a familiar chakra. It was kind of like an Uchiha, but it wasn't Sasuke. She knew there are only three people with the Sharingan eye - Kakashi, Sasuke and HIM. Since Sasuke was with them and she knew it wasn't Kakashi's chakra she sensed… Then it hit her, well almost hit her. As a kunai flew towards her, Sakura spun around and skilfully caught the kunai._

"_Who's there?" Sakura yelled into the trees, which got the boys' attention. They turned their attention to their female teammate who clutched the kunai in her hand. "Show yourself!"_

_The man in the shadows smirked at the pink-haired kunoichi. Nothing but a pair of piercing red eyes behind the blackness of the shadow he's hiding behind. Sasuke froze at the pair of red eyes. As he realized who their mystery attacker was, he stopped breathing, slowing reaching for his sword from behind his back._

_The man with red eyes smirked at the three Jounins._

"_Wow, who ever heard of a shinobi with pink hair?__"

* * *

_

Sakura twitched at the man's comment. She had never liked it when people make rude comments about her hair colour or her forehead; she grew up being very insecure about her appearance.

Sasuke glared at the male figure that stood before him, as if he was slowly killing him through his intense glare. Why was he here? Sasuke had spent two and a half looking for this man. That's two and half years of pain, two and a half year of betrayal and two and a half years of making his friends suffer, especially Sakura. He just HAD to show up now, just when his life was finally back on track, just when he was ready to settle down in Konoha and find a suitable young woman to bare his children, although what he really wanted was Sakura.

Naruto blinked. He knew Sasuke and the man were never on friendly terms. Naruto knew that if he tried to interfere in Sasuke's family business, he was likely be killed by his best-friend. And Sakura, well, anyone who insulted in forehead or hair was going to have an early funeral. Naruto slowly reached for one of his kunais, not wanting anything bad to happen to his two best-friends.

"Relax, little brother," the man behind the shadows spoke again. "It's not you I'm after…" The man pointed at Sakura, Sakura flinched. Why did the S-class criminal want her and not Sasuke?

Sasuke growled, activating his Sharingan. He was not going to take Sakura away; no one was allowed to harm her in any way. No one.

"What do you want with her," Sasuke began to reply. "**Itachi**"

Itachi stepped out of the shadows, revealing a man with raven black hair, much like Sasuke's, and piercing red eyes. Itachi glared at his younger sibling, he could see so much hate in Sasuke's eyes - he gave a light chuckle.

"Still trying to kill me, little brother?"

"Just shut up will you?" Sasuke spat back. "You killed out entire clan Itachi! You killed mother and father and everyone else… Don't you care about them at all?! And all these years, every single miserable year, I think about why you kill them. Why did you kill them?"

Itachi frowned. He didn't want to tell him why he killed everybody; he wasn't ready for the truth, not yet at least. Instead of replying to his younger brother, he charged at Sakura. In a blink of an eye, he appeared behind Sakura, his face inches away from her neck.

Itachi swiftly grabbed a hand full of Sakura's soft pink hair from behind, jerking her head back violently. Sakura swore underneath her breath for letting the Uchiha get so close to her so fast. In order to escape, she raised her arm, and attempted to stab Itachi's arm with the kunai she already had.

Itachi chuckled, grabbing both of Sakura's arms by the wrists and twisting her into a painful lockdown, forcing her into the dirt, the dropped kunai lay on the ground. Sakura winced in pain as the criminal's grasp tightened around her hands. She could feel her circulation get cut off by Itachi's strong hold. Her wrist area slowly turned into a dark plum colour.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight of Itachi holding onto Sakura, he charged at his older brother with his kusanagi (grass cutter), coming to Sakura's rescue. Itachi sensed Sasuke's chakra, and quickly spun around, letting go of Sakura and caught the tip of kusanagi between his palms in prayer form, the blade and inches away from his face.

The wind blew slightly, causing Sakura's loose locks to fly in the wind as she struggled to pour chakra into her swollen wrists. Then, she felt another chakra. She frowned, she could swear she felt this chakra before, but she can't quite tell whose it was. It was someone powerful alright. She turned towards Naruto and tried to tell him that someone else was there through her actions, but knowing Naruto, he just cocked his head to one side on confusion, not getting the message AT ALL.

Kisame leaped out of a near by bush and attempted to grab Naruto. Naruto, even though he was extremely dense, still sensed Kisame's chakra. He quickly spun around, catching both of Kisame's fists with his own hands while trying to land a kick around Kisame's middle.

Kisame smirked, quickly kneeing Naruto in the stomach while catching his leg in mid air, twisting it and throwing Naruto painfully against a tree. Twisting his body around, Naruto quickly landed on his feet, performing quick hand seals.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu (Shadow Clones)!"

Ten Narutos quickly appeared through the smoke, surrounding Kisame. Kisame looked around, obviously confused towards which Naruto was real.

Sakura turned her head towards the two Uchiha brothers, seeing that Sasuke and Itachi were still in their past position in what how looked like a staring contest. Both brothers were staring intensity into each other's eyes, if they were at it for any longer, someone might as well scream 'Oh kiss already!' Sakura decided this was the perfect moment to attack.

After a few quick movements, Sakura managed to perform the necessary hand seals for 'Kanashibari no jutsu' (Body Freeze Skill) and froze Itachi in place. Itachi, not being able to move, panicked (although he didn't let it show). He knew the hand seals that his younger sibling was making. He would get toasted before he could dispel the jutsu. It looks like the end for the elder Uchiha heir.

Kisame twitched. He always hated this jutsu and now he hated it even more. Kisame looked around and tried to sense the direction in which Naruto's chakra was coming from, having no such luck, Kisame got impatient. Pulling out several kunais, Kisame aimed at the four clones to his right and the four Naruto to his left, throwing the kunais at the Naruto clones.

The clones skilfully dodged the kunais like the real Naruto would have. The real Naruto pulled out a kunai from his own kunai pouch and cut himself slightly, drawing a little bit of blood. Naruto then drew a pattern on the dirt ground, preformed a few hand seals and pressed his palm into the center of the circular pattern, causing a faint blue light to glow.

After many attempts, Itachi finally managed to quickly dispel the 'Kanashibari no jutsu' (Kai) just in time to avoid the 'Katon Housenka no Jutsu' (Fire Element, Phoenix Fire) fire balls that were heading his way. Sasuke cursed underneath his breath as he watched his fire balls disappear into the trunk of a near by oak tree. (**A/N** – OMG, Poor tree!)

Itachi did not let the moment pass without taking full control of the task at hand. He then pulled out several kunai knives and threw them at both Sasuke and Sakura, teleporting behind Sasuke while he was busy dodging the kunais and preformed a powerful 'Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu' (Chakra Absorption) on him. A painful purple glow surrounded the Uchiha as the jutsu began to take effect.

Gasping at Sasuke's current position, Sakura quickly threw a powerful chakra filled punch at Itachi hoping to help Sasuke in his time of need. Sakura's powerful punch sent Itachi flying into a near by tree. (**A/N** – All the trees are getting hurt in this fic…) Sasuke smirked at Sakura, nodding to show thanks. She had gotten very powerful in the past years that he'd been gone. He was proud of Sakura and, despite how much he hurt her; she still managed to get stronger, and not weaker. Sasuke clenched his fist in anger at the painful memory of himself hurting Sakura because of him. Itachi was going DOWN.

The blue grow slowly shaped into the form of a giant toad. Naruto had summoned the one and only, Gamabunta, head of toads. Kisame frowned, '_the blonde idiot has certainly gotten stronger…_' Kisame pulled out his Samehada (Sharkskin) and charged Naruto, aiming for the chest area, hoping to kill the hyper-active blonde.

But at that moment, Gamabunta pulled out his giant dagger and attempted to stab Kisame. Kisame used his 'Samehada' and blocked the attack with one hand while pulling out several kunais with the other hand, throwing them at Naruto. Naruto dodged the kunais, the clones attacked Kisame, piling on top of him, covering him in a pile of Narutos.

Itachi quickly recovered from Sakura's recent attack, and upon seeing the pink haired female help his younger brother recover his lost chakra, Itachi smirked. He just found his brother's one weakness, Sakura. Sakura looked in Itachi's direction, seeing that the older Uchiha had gotten up from his past position; she quickly performed one of her own jutsu 'Sakura Fubuki' (Cherry Blossom Snow Storm). Sasuke watched as a storm of cherry blossom petals appeared out of no where, surrounding Itachi. Then he had an idea.

Making a few hand seals, Sasuke unleashed a shock of lighting, or more commonly known as 'Raikiri' (or chidori, Lightning Edge), combining it with Sakura's 'Sakura Fubuki', striking Itachi with a powerful blow, practically knocking him out.

* * *

(Meanwhile, somewhere in Tsunade's office…)

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune ran through the halls of the tall building, crashing into Tsunade's office. The godaime hokage awoke with a gasp, wiping the drool off the side of her face, knocking over the half empty bottle of sake that now lay beside her, the current contents gushing out.

"Whaaa…" wailed the half awake godaime. "Have you brought me more sake Shizune?"

Shizune only shock her head at the druken woman before her, "Several ninjas in the village have noticed the appearance of Gamabunta, the head of toads, in the lush greens of Konoha where team seven usually trains. We can only assume one thing..."

"**Naruto**."

Both women's reply came at the same time; Tsunade's suddenly became aware of the current situation. Tsunade pressed a button on her phone, speaking clearly and loudly into the intercom…

"I want our best ANBU members in my office, NOW."

Moment later, four members of ANBU stood at attention in front of Tsunade as she explained the sudden need for these four members.

By the time the ANBUs quickly approached the center of the forest, Itachi and Kisame were long gone. They had both sensed the strong chakra of the ANBU members, leaving Sasuke angry and confused.

'_What did he want with Sakura?_'

* * *

Okay, I think this is my shortest chapter yet, god, each of my chapters keeps getting shorter and shorter! Well, I haven't had much time to write lately I guess. Oh yeah, I'm in Quebec next week so I won't have any time to write (Like I do now anyways…) but I will jot down ideas and stuff for the next few chapters on the bus. What else am I suppose to do for 18 hours (Back and forth…)! Thank you Alysha for editing.

**m e d a r i**


	4. 1000 Cranes, I Love You

**A/N – **GAH.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I'm soooo sorry! I didn't mean for you to wait so long for me to update! You see, I was busy. The teachers decided to dump two months worth of projects, assignments, homework, presentations and tests on us during the last two weeks of school. It's driving me nuts. I can't wait till summer. Although I have to study grade nine stuff, do volunteer teaching little kids how to read, baby sit my little sister and piano I want to let you know that I'll try my best to write at least one chapter a week.

I think I might want to base this OMAKE on the song "Someday" by NINA. I am currently designing CD covers and lyric books for art class, it's a fun assignment. It was what gave me the idea of writing a song fic. Usually song fics bore me because I skip all the lyrics part and read the story. But since I am also a music junkie (I really am. I have like 800 songs in 30 different folders on my computer. I listen to music so much that my parents are starting to become deaf.) I love the idea of putting the lyrics of a song into the insert emotion here of the story. So I hope you enjoy yourself with the newest addition of OMAKE, "**Someday (I'll make you see)**"

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I was on Google trying to find the lyrics to this song when I came to a sad realization. I do not own Naruto, NINA or this song. But I **DO** have a friend named Nina xD

* * *

**OMAKE: ****Someday (I'll make you see)**

(**A/N: **I fell in love with this song when I first heard it in a SakuraxSasuke tribute video. It was the saddest/sweetest song I've ever heard and at that moment I KNEW I had to write something revolving around it. So this OMAKE is dedicated to all those have had broken hearts and who hope that those who wish to break a heart never do.)

_**The LYRICS are in ITALICS…**_

**Sakura's POV**

**CRASH.**

I felt myself raise my arm to toss the picture of my genin team across the room; it shattered against the pastel cherry blossom colour of the dry wall. Gasping at my absurd actions towards something that I treasure so much, I ran towards the crack in my wall, pushing past the glass shards that cut through my fingers to retrieve the picture underneath… Hugging the picture, I just let the tears pour out. I miss him. Why did he go?

_**Someday you're**__** going to realize,  
One day you'll see through my eyes.  
But then I won't even be there,  
I'll be happy somewhere,  
Even if I can't …**_

I know that one of these days, he'll be back. But when he's back, will he change? I know I will, but I'll always love him. No matter what, nothing will change that. Now sitting cross-legged on my bed, I hug the pillow that he slept on when he came back, all bandaged from his battle with Orochimaru. It still smells like him. But now he's gone again, searching for something that I know he'll never find. At least, I hope he'd never find it.

_**I know,  
you don't really see my worth.  
You think your the last guy on earth…  
Well I've got news for you.  
I know I'm not that strong,  
But it won't take long,  
won't take long.**_

I sighed. I knew he always thought I was too weak and needed to defend me. I know he always thought that he needed to protect me from those that wanted to harm me. I wish he'd just tell me the real reason that he's so protective of me, but I know that reason will never be true. I'm just a weak little fool chasing after something I know I'll never get. Kakashi-sensei once said that those who are weak are garbage, but those who don't help their friends are even more pathetic than that. You already made me think that I'm garbage - so don't make me feel I'm even worse. I want to help you Sasuke-kun. Let me in and I'll heal you. I don't want to be worse than trash.

_**Because someday, someone's going to love me,  
the way, I want you to need me.  
Someday, someone's going to take your place.  
One day I'll forget about you,  
you'll see, I won't even miss you.  
Someday, someday…**_

One of these days, I know I'll find someone who'll love me the way I wanted you to. But until then, I'll still hold on to your memory, hoping that someday you'll show up at my door holding flowers and an apology letter. But I won't even give you a second chance. I won't even think twice about it. I'll just slam the door in your face and regret it later. The truth is, no matter how much I want to forget about you and move on, I can't.

_**But now,**__**  
And I'm doing well.  
I'm down, and I'm not down anyway.  
But one day these tears,  
they will all run dry.  
I won't have to cry,  
Sweet goodbye…**_

I've shed so many tears for you. I'm not going to cry anymore, I can't. These tears have all been wasted on you and your endless, senseless goals. I used to think you were the greatest, the best. I used to think you were always right, but you weren't. You're stupid for chasing useless dreams. But I know that deep down; you know accomplishing these goals can never make you happy. I've come to the sad realization that you will never be happy. And because of that, I will never be happy. **NEVER**.

_**Because someday, someone's going to love me,  
the way, I want you to need me.  
Someday, someone's going to take your place.  
One day I'll forget about you,  
you'll see, I won't even miss you.  
Someday, someday…**_

Someday, I'll forget all about you. I just hope it won't be too late then, but then again, it's never too late. You always have the time to start over again, start fresh. I will open my eyes to those who truly love me for who I am, I will start seeking those who actually care for me. I won't even miss you, Sasuke-kun. I'll forget about you, I'll never miss you. I'll be better off without you.

Wait, did I just hear a knock on the door?

**Is that you**?

* * *

**A/N** – I'm feeling really sad after writing this. Maybe it's because I was reading a web site where it said that guys and girls can't be JUST friends. It's kind of funny actually, because the whole time I was reading it, my mind kept repeating… 

_"I hang out with lots of guys; does that mean that one of them like me or vice versa?" _

* * *

**THE CHERRY BLOSSOM CHRONICLE**

Chapter Four: 1000 Cranes, I Love You

* * *

This is Talking  
_This is Anyone's Thoughts  
_**This is Inner Sakura/Sasuke  
**_FLASHBACKS ARE IN ITALIC _

* * *

"_**Naruto**__."_

_Both women's reply came at the same time; Tsunade suddenly became aware of the current situation. Tsunade pressed a button on her phone, speaking clearly and loudly into the intercom…_

"_I want our best ANBU members in my office, NOW."_

_Moment later, four members of__ ANBU stood at attention in front of Tsunade as she explained the sudden need for these four members._

_By the time__ the ANBUs quickly approached the center of the forest, Itachi and Kisame were long gone. They had both sensed the strong chakra of the ANBU members, leaving Sasuke angry and confused._

_'What did he want with Sakura?' _

* * *

**Sasuke's POV**

I flopped down against a large oak tree, panting, trying to catch my breath from running around the village a few dozen times. I've never seen Sakura fight so well before. She has never tried to show off to me, not even once for the whole two years I've been back. In fact, she just helped me train to become stronger, and to get better mentally and physically. How come I've never noticed how strong she's gotten?

I saw a flash of pink in the corner of my eye and the smell of ramen coming down the path towards me. Speak of the devil. I looked up fully, staring at Sakura as she and Naruto came down the path, chatting happily. It was as if what happened the afternoon before had simply disappeared, erased from her mind. Her eye darted up, catching mine. I could practically feel my insides starting to burn when she waved at me and smiled. The next thing I heard was Naruto's loud complaining… apparently Sakura dragged Naruto here by his legs, causing him to spill his ramen. God, does that kid **EVER **get tired of ramen all the time?!

"Sasuke-kun?"

Wait, is that Sakura's voice? I snapped out of my trance and looked up, staring at large, sparkling emerald eyes, **HER** eyes. Sakura's eye shone with such intensity, passion and hope that it scared me. Didn't this girl know the effects of falling in love with me? I balled my hands into fists. All who have loved me, all whom I have loved, have died because of HIM. I must destroy him. I can't let him hurt her anymore; no one will ever hurt her as long as I'm here. I must protect her; I must protect her with my life.

That thought almost made me smile.

* * *

**Sakura's POV**

Whoa.

Did the infamous Uchiha Sasuke just, no scratch that, almost just smile? Shocking, I know. I stood there, blinking for several minutes, watching Sasuke get lost in his own thoughts. His mind is like a roller coaster. The ups are so far up that you can't reach them and it takes forever to get over the high bits, but when you do, you'll just fall all the way down faster than you can get up. At the end, you'll be climbing that same hill all over again.

In a way, I sort of envy him. Sure, he has to go down the same road over and over again only to be back at where he started, but at least he has the courage to keep going. If it were me, I would have just given up. I would've just sat there at the beginning of the road and waited for someone to take me by the hand and lead me home. In some ways, I guess Sasuke's waiting for that too.

I looked down into Sasuke's eyes, and I know what happened must still bother him. I know that it's what keeps him from sleeping at night, I can tell by the bags underneath his eyes. I'm almost tempted to reach over and push away the loose strands of hair that cover them. I can tell he's staring at me with eyes that say 'You need to be protected'.

And I stare right back at him, except, my gaze says… 'Not anymore.'

* * *

**Sasuke's POV**

My stare slowly softened and I smirked. Pulling myself up, I grabbed Sakura's hand. She must've been surprised because she jumped back; it's almost as if she thought I was incapable of such physical affection. I rolled my eyes and she glared at me, desperately trying to wriggle out of my grasp. Naruto just stood there, blinking like an idiot, letting me drag Sakura into the woods. All the ramen must have finally affected his brain; the un-digested noodles are probably currently polluting his logic. Okay, so he never had any logic to begin with. Who cares?

"Um, Sasuke-kun, can you please stop dragging me? It's hurting my wrist." I could have sworn I saw a sweat drop when she said that. I dropped her hand quickly and felt my face heat up. I know Sakura noticed this and I silently thanked her for not bring it up.

"Also, where are we going?" As if she didn't already know.

"We're going training." I saw her roll her eyes. I don't think she knew that I saw her. I closed my eyes and smiled. When my eyes opened again, I can only see emerald eyes staring at me.

"Tell me something I don't know…"

* * *

**Sakura's POV**

I wonder what Sasuke was thinking about. I've never seen him so at ease before, especially after his brother ambushed us. I probably shouldn't have rolled my eyes are him, I hope he didn't see. I sighed. If all we do is train on my day off, I shouldn't have a day off at all.

'**But Sasuke-kun doesn't know you have a day off…**'  
'_Well, he should!_'  
'**Well, maybe you should have told him. I thought you're suppose to be the smart one in the group!**'  
'_I am the smart one. Sasuke should know today's my day off. I always go train with him on the 14__th__ of every month._'  
'**He probably knows but doesn't want to bring it up…**'  
'_Maybe he's just using training as an excuse._'  
'**An excuse for what? It's not like he's going to tell you he loves you or anything.**'  
'_He might, you never know._'  
'**Keep dreaming.**'  
'_I will._"

I looked up to see Sasuke staring at me. I blushed and looked away; I would swear that he was smirking. Somehow, he took hold of my hand again! I jerked away from him violently, only to walk right into a cherry blossom tree (**A/N** – No she did not slam into the tree!). Apparently, Sasuke discovered that, at the other side of the forest, there laid a beautiful cherry blossom garden. I smiled at the flowing flower petals. I forgot how wonderful they were.

"They remind me of you…"

* * *

**Sasuke's POV**

Oh my god.

I didn't just say that. I didn't just say the cherry blossoms reminded me of Sakura.

'**Well, they do. Don't they?**'  
'_Great, you're back. Don't you ever go away?_'  
'**Ha, keep dreaming.**'  
'_Dreams are for fools who can't fully grasp reality._'  
'**Are you calling yourself a fool then?**'  
'_What are you talking about?_'  
'**You can't fully grasp the reality.**'  
'_That's not true…_'  
'**Yes it is, the mere fact that you can't accept the truth means that you cannot fully grasp reality. And the reality is…**'  
'_That I've fallen in love with Sakura._'  
'**You finally got it.**'

That can't be true though. Sure I think she's beautiful, smart, talented and has the qualities of everything you would want in a girl, but that doesn't mean I've gone and fallen in love with her! I promised myself not to love because the person that I love will only get hurt. It'll hurt me, but more importantly, it'll hurt her. And I promised that nothing would hurt her; I promised that I will protect her with my life. That is a promise that I intend to keep.

No matter what.

* * *

**Sakura's POV**

Sasuke spaced out again. I wonder what has been bothering him. I smile to myself, how could one person manage to look so stressed out yet so peaceful at the same time?

"This reminds me of the day you came back…" I found myself saying something I didn't want to say.

"Oh?" Sasuke looked puzzled, I've never seen him so confused. I couldn't help myself; I let out a little childish giggle. "Why does it remind you of the day I came back?"

"You see…"

* * *

**FLASHBACK MODE: TWO YEARS AGO**

_Sakura walked out of the hospital. She was finally getting the break she was supposed to get about three hours ago. Looking up, the pink-haired ninja saw Naruto running towards her rather quickly with something… no, _someone_ on his back. Sakura cocked her head in confusion. Who…? As Naruto came closer, it was clear who was on his back. 'Sasuke…' Sakura heard herself whisper the name she swore never to say again. He was back and although Sakura doesn't know whether to scream or cry, somewhere deep in her heart told her that she was happy. Perhaps she still loved him, she didn't know. The truth is, she wouldn't know for a long time._

_A few hours went by as Sakura sat on the floor outside of Sasuke's hospital room, her back leaning against the door. She fiddled with a bag that was in her lap. She was nervous; she wasn't sure why, but she was. Sakura had waited for this moment ever since Sasuke left her on that lonely bench three years ago. Suddenly she felt the door move against her back; she quickly scrambled to her feet and came face to face with Naruto. Sakura was quite surprised; she had never seen him look so… serious. _

"_Well…?" Sakura found herself suddenly interested in the condition of her ex-team-mate._

_Naruto looked up at Sakura, clearly confused. His clear blue eyes said 'He hurt you Sakura-chan. Why do you still love him?'_

_Sakura frowned. "If you refuse to answer, I'll find out myself!" With that much said, Sakura opened the hospital door and peeked inside. She rested one hand on her heart, trying to slow down its rapid beating. She looked back at Naruto and smiled. "Wish me luck."_

**FLASHBACK MODE: TWO YEARS AGO, IN THE HOSPITAL ROOM **

_Sasuke's eyes opened, only to be blinded by the bright light. Looking up, Sasuke saw a round frame over his head. He couldn't tell what the object was from the position he was lying in, all he knew was that it was moving slowly in a spinning motion. Frowning, Sasuke tried to get up but a petite hand pushed him back into position._

"_Sorry Sasuke-kun." Sasuke's eyes widened. It was that voice, the voice that haunted him for three years. The same voice that drove him to kill Orochimaru and come back to Konoha. It was __**HER**__ voice. "I can't let you get up, doctor's orders."_

_Sasuke heard a chuckle. When he turned his head, he saw __**HER**__. 'Sakura…'_

"_And by 'doctor's orders', I mean my orders."_

_Sasuke turned his head away again, too nervous to say anything, and stared at the ceiling observing the spinning object above his head. Several minutes after, Sasuke finally discovered what the object was. 'I wonder how long it took for her to make those.' He smiled to himself, 'well, she had three years.'_

_Above Sasuke's head was a mobile. On the mobile hung ten chains of paper cranes, two different colours on each chain. The shiny pearl crane paper must have cost a lot. (__**A/N **__– It's actually only $3.99 Canadian dollars.) There were two stars in each chain, one between every 50 and another one on the end. He counted ten stars in total. Sasuke closed his eyes and smiled, remembering the legend. 'If you make 1000 cranes, the god will come down and grant you one wish. Did she make these so my wish can come true, or did she make these to make her wish come true?' Opening his eyes, he watched the 1000 cranes shine in the sun. 'Well, I know she got her wish and I don't want to disappoint her. What should I do?'_

**FLASHBACK MODE: TWO YEARS AGO, OUT SIDE THE HOSPITAL ROOM **

_Sakura peeked into the room once again, smiling at Sasuke's peaceful expression._

_'I wonder…' Sakura thought, 'how can one person look so stressed out yet so peaceful at the same time?' _

* * *

**Sakura's POV**

"Yups, that's how I remembered it." I laughed, "You looked so cute!"

Okay, I could have sworn Sasuke blushed! I smiled at this.

"You know…" He looked up at me, cocking his head in confusion.

"Yes?"

"I still love you."

* * *

Okay, I'm happy I finally finished this chapter. The fact that it was left unfinished was hunting me. I'm so sorry for making you wait so long but I had to study for a Science competition and I'm the leader in a group project and I had to assign projects for all my group members. I'm SO sorry. But, I also thank this chapter because while reading through it, I was really hungry. But as soon as I read the second **SASUKE'S POV**, I realized that I had ramen (how stupid of me!) xD. **Oh, and thank you Alysha for editing.**

**m e d a r i**


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